Clinic has interim CEO after shake-up

Wednesday

Jan 15, 2014 at 10:44 PMJan 15, 2014 at 10:44 PM

By Dean OlsenStaff Writer

A new interim chief executive officer is in place at Central Counties Health Centers, and a search has begun for a permanent leader of the federally subsidized medical clinic on Springfield’s east side.

But many questions continue to surround a management shake-up at the facility, 2239 E. Cook St., which receives millions of dollars in state and federal funds to serve a predominantly poor population of patients, most of whom are uninsured or covered by Medicaid.

Most puzzling may be why the not-for-profit facility’s longtime chief medical officer, Dr. Dora Ramos, 52, left the staff of Central Counties several weeks before the removal of former CEO Craig Glover, then returned to the staff last week.

No one at Central Counties will say why Ramos left and returned, or why Glover was removed.

But Ramos is back — with the same title and pay — after her husband of more than 10 years, Bradley Buzzard, 45, was temporarily appointed to assume Glover’s duties.

Buzzard, Central Counties’ chief operating officer and an employee of the facility since 1999, served as interim CEO from mid-November until early January, when Barbara Dunn of Decatur was hired for the interim CEO job. Buzzard remains as chief operating officer.

Buzzard and Ramos, who live in Sherman, haven’t responded to requests this week from The State Journal-Register for comment. The chairwoman of Central Counties’ governing board, Julie Janssen, hasn’t responded to several attempts to contact her.

Ramos received total compensation of about $280,700 from Central Counties in the fiscal year ending in June 2012, according to the most facility’s recent IRS 990 form. Buzzard received $193,621 in compensation that year, according to the document.

Dunn, who said Ramos returned to the staff last week, wouldn’t comment Wednesday on the reasons for Ramos’ departure and return.

“It’s all personnel-related,” Dunn said.

She said Ramos is back to work directing the medical staff and seeing patients.

“She’s well-liked by her patients,” Dunn said.

Glover, 38, had been on the job just two years and was being paid about $170,000 annually.

He gave no indication of wanting to leave when interviewed by the newspaper a month before his mid-November departure. He participated in an Oct. 9 ground-breaking ceremony for the facility’s ongoing $4.5 million expansion project that was attended by several Springfield leaders.

Glover, who moved to Springfield after working as vice president for a group of St. Louis health centers, has declined to comment on why he resigned.

Springfield resident Bobby Hall, who resigned as unpaid chairman of Central Counties’ board shortly before Glover resigned, told the SJ-R that some board members had vague criticisms of Glover, but Hall thought Glover was a good employee.

Two years remain on Glover’s contract, Hall said.

Glover told Hall in November that the board had placed him on administrative leave with pay, according to Hall.

Dunn said Wednesday that Glover no longer is an employee of Central Counties. She wouldn’t say whether Glover continues to be paid by the organization.

Glover’s departure shocked two Springfield City Council members whose constituents depend on Central Counties for primary health-care services.

“There is a lot of concern within the community about the way the situation came about and the secrecy about it internally and externally,” Ward 3 Ald. Doris Turner said. “There is some concern that the allegations that led to the dismissal were related to valid concerns and complaints and things the director was trying to rectify.”

The “concerns and complaints” Glover was dealing with apparently involved “customer service” and “consumers’ ability to have their issues and concerns addressed,” Turner said.

Turner said she didn’t have first-hand knowledge of Glover’s situation but based her comments on information she received from current and past board members at Central Counties.

“I thought Craig Glover did a great job while he was there,” Turner said. “He really involved himself in the social-service community and networked with those individuals.”

Ward 2 Ald. Gail Simpson said she hasn’t heard concerns from constituents about the future of Central Counties but added: “I don’t have any idea why Glover left. I thought he was doing an excellent job. He was out in the community promoting the center.”

Dunn, who wouldn’t give her age or say how much she is being paid, said her main goal is to help with the transition to a permanent CEO and to assist “a wonderful staff” of 63 people, which includes seven doctors and two dentists.

The search for a permanent CEO has begun, and Central Counties hopes to have that person on board by April 1, Dunn said. She said she isn’t interested in the long-term job.

Dunn said she retired in March 2013 after serving for 30 years as director of a similar federally qualified health center in Decatur, Community Health Improvement Center.

Central Counties, which serves about 17,000 children and adults with an annual $7.5 million budget, recently demonstrated high-quality patient service by receiving “medical home” status from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, Dunn said.

The facility posted $394,000 in losses in fiscal 2012 and a loss of about $700,000 in the fiscal year ending in June 2013 after being in the black $505,000 in fiscal 2011.

Central Counties currently is “at the break-even stage” and isn’t in any danger of closing, Dunn said.